Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-09-25

IN the balloon ceramic maniac's collec-
ton the valuable is anterior to 1889,
excepting perhaps large dish in rustic
pottery OF the canton of Berne, in
Switzerland, designed with picture OF
the "Geant," and inscribed TO "Nadar,
Z. B. 1854"
81 csl it my patriotic collection"
he said, "although it antedates the
revolution" We bowed. He would
not have understood that it is possible
for The same people to be republicans
in America and monarchists in Europe.
ITO an enlightened collector. " he went
on, "the modern are Of no great use.
We bowed, disdaining to destroy fall
lacy that for its enormity could be COM
pared TO q Californian fruit rpened IN
a Cascon dollhouse.
"ln furniture" he said, leading the
way to his dining-room, "look at that
table notice the expression of these
four wyverns And that console sup
ported by two harpies Now there is
a cupboard. small, useful, and pleasant
to the sight Nothing is simpler, but
everything is well done, the lines are
well drawn, the proportions are well
kept. every ornament is in its place.
Mark the difference between work in
oak and work in walnut here il is sim
PIE, large, robust like an oak /; there
it is finer and more delicate. For
merry there were guilds in every
trade: they We'd with one an
other for good work. 1t was q privi-
lege to be in them they closed their
doors to mediocrity. Then came
freedom and machinery. Architects,
painters, and sculptors were to invent
new forms for new era there was to
he q deluge of great works. They
have created nothing but competition
for money. They have copied old
models into safety and copied badly.
They have forgotten that in the art Of
furniture making there should be archi-
lecture in construction, sculpture in
ornament. painting and engraving in
the combination of colors. In
former times Dueerceau and Jean
Goujon were not too heightened
to work at it. With every de-
cade great workman came. The
provinces followed in the wake of
Paris-Touraine, with Juste and Geof-
troy Tory Lorraine, with Richer ;
Burgundy, with Hughes Sambin ;
Orleans, with Stephanus Toulouse,
with Nicholas Bachelor Lyons, with
Bernard. Artists in those days did not
fancy that they were above workmen,
and they went in their shops, talked
with them, gave them ideas, worked
with them. Those who had wealth did
not throw il out of the windows, but
used it for the good of art. Furniture,
tableware, books are not like monu-
ments. You may close your eyes at
the latter, whereas the former are with
you constantly"
He spoke as if the future Of art in the
household depended upon the impress
sion his theories would make upon our
untutored minds, and, being his guests,
we did not tell him that we had read Of
Daniel Roach and his sons, who stood
in the way of a locomotive because
they held progress in abominatiOn. As
we were saying goodbye he showed
us japanese bronze, hideous little
tulllrog, for which he had given 500
francs 1T the Hotel DOuot then
TUNED TO notice OF the in
cident in his scrap.book, taken
from the RcpuJdqUc Fraasqjsc. 1t
said that "things have come to a fine
pass when a man may be allowed to
throw 5O0f. at a japanese bullfrog
while the Woodworking people are
starving" We could not find our crea-
ture, Angelo, at the door, but got on
bis trail by walking to the Inn del
GUARDING, where a trumpeter. and a
cymbalier Of Signor Franconi S
troupe were giving n concert to
the street arabs. Angelo stood at
the door of the hotel with an I'M
concerned air, the artifcer scratched
his bald head that looked as red rs 4
vine leaf in the fall, the dentist said
that he bad chosen his tooth-powdcr
rather than all Golconda as reward
for having saved q princess from
drowning, and when We came to figure
the benefits derived from our visit to
Leghorn we found one mania more,
balloonry in ceramics for ourselves, and
two teeth less for Angelo, who submit
ted to having them pulled without pain,
IN he q GOOD example TO the crowd.